The Detroit Lions host the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving at Ford Field. It will be the Bears’ 17th visit to Detroit for Thanksgiving (second-most in the NFL behind the Green Bay Packers with 21), and their 12th since World War II ended. Free Press sports writer Ryan Ford breaks down the 11 games between WWII and this year:

John Greene had six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears on Thanksgiving Day 1947.(Photo: Detroit Free Press file photo)

Nov. 27, 1947: Bears 34, Lions 14

Chicago didn’t give the Lions much to be thankful for at Briggs Stadium, rumbling to 34 straight points in the first three quarters. They also held the Lions to just 35 yards on the ground. The Lions’ lone highlights came in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Clyde LeForce found John Greene for a pair of 45-yard TD passes. Greene finished with six catches for 110 yards.

Nov. 24, 1949: Bears 28, Lions 7

The Lions’ offense apparently started its Turkey Day nap early at Briggs Stadium. Detroit managed just 40 rushing yards — on 29 carries — and 70 passing yards while tossing four interceptions. The Lions’ lone score came on a 102-yard interception return by Bob Smith in the fourth quarter, as Detroit was down 28-0.

Nov. 26, 1964: Bears 27, Lions 24

The Lions got their first lead in a Thanksgiving game against the Bears since 1938 when Wayne Walker kicked a 25-yard field goal in the first quarter. The teams traded scores from there and went into the fourth tied at 24. Roger LeClerc hit a 17-yard field goal early in the fourth, and that was all the Bears needed. Terry Barr and Jim Gibbons each had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Nov. 24, 1977: Bears 31, Lions 14

The Lions again struck first, this time on a 16-yard pass from Greg Landry to David Hill. But the Lions had no way to stop star Bears running back Walter Payton. “Sweetness” ate up 137 yards on the ground and added 107 receiving yards on just four catches, including a 75-yard TD that put the Bears up for good. A mostly ineffective Greg Landry was pulled for Gary Danielson partway through the second half.

Nov. 22, 1979: Lions 20, Bears 0

The Bears entered the game on a four-game winning streak; the Lions were on an eight-game losing streak. So of course the Lions defense came out strong and dominated a playoff-hopeful Chicago team. The Lions held Walter Payton to just 54 rushing yards and had five sacks and forced three turnovers. Detroit QB Jeff Komlo wasn’t great — he threw three interceptions — but he made the plays he needed to en route to 244 passing yards.

Nov. 27, 1980: Bears 23, Lions 17

Coach Monte Clark — who already had 28 losses with the Lions entering this game — called it “the most disappointing, bitter loss I’ve ever experienced.” And no wonder: The Lions blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. They let Bears quarterback Vince Evans scramble for a game-tying four-yard TD on the final play of regulation. And then, to open OT, they let Dave Williams return the kickoff 95 yards for the win.

Former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh fumbled twice and threw four interceptions in a Thanksgiving loss to the Lions in 1991.(Photo: Detroit Free Press file photo)

Nov. 28, 1991: Lions 16, Bears 6

The 11 first downs and 208 total yards (62 on the ground from Barry Sanders) were very Lions-like. The win — and the share of first place in the NFC Central it brought — was not. But the Lions defense hassled Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh into four interceptions and two lost fumbles, and Eddie Murray hit three field goals, including a 50-yarder in the third quarter.

Nov. 25, 1993: Bears 10, Lions 6

Not much to be thankful for here. The Lions put Detroit into a state of panic about their NFC Central hopes by dropping a brutal game to the Bears — and losing Barry Sanders to a knee injury. The Lions’ run-and-shoot offense didn’t run (just 84 yards ) but did shoot itself in the foot, as quarterback Rodney Peete threw two interceptions. At least Jason Hanson’s two field goals gave him the franchise record for FGs in a season.

Barry Sanders rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears on Thanksgiving in 1997.(Photo: JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DETROIT FREE PRESS)

Nov. 27, 1997: Lions 55, Bears 20

With 11:28 reminaing in the second quarter, the Lions trailed 17-3 and Barry Sanders had just 3 rushing yards on four carries. Same old Lions, right? From there, Sanders carried the ball 15 more times for 164 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions finished the game on a 52-3 run. Sanders’ 167 total yards also moved him past Eric Dickerson into second on the NFL’s all-time rushing list.

Nov. 25, 1999: Lions 21, Bears 17

It was the Lions’ first Thanksgiving game without Barry Sanders in more than a decade, but the running game was still the story. Greg Hill, whom the Lions traded for after Sanders’ sudden retirement over the summer, scored his first touchdown of the season and had 68 yards rushing. Still, 63 of those came in the first half, as the Lions built a 21-0 lead before punting on their first four possessions of the second half.

Nov. 27, 2014: Lions 35, Bears 14

The Lions had gone two whole games without a touchdown before everything clicked against the Bears. Matthew Stafford completed 34 of his 45 attemps (75.6 percent) for 390 yards. Eleven of those completions went to Calvin Johnson, who had 146 receiving yards against mostly single coverage and became the fastest player to 10,000 receiving yards, doing it in just 115 games.